Acceptance of the Heart
by Rorudesu-chan
Summary: If he learned to forgive, I learned to accept..." He learns to forgive himself for her death... She learns to accept the things that were never meant to be. --- Post-AC. One-Shot Zack-Aerith/Cloud-Tifa. Please Read & Review! My first FF7 fanfic! :


**Acceptance of the Heart**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 and its related characters, stories, etc._

_**READ and REVIEW! Enjoy! :)**  
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The huge door behind me shuts quietly. I enter back again into this world that I can happily call 'home'. Yes, the Lifestream. It is my home or rather, it has been my home ever since Sephiroth took me from my planet, from my family, from my friends and from… the one I have loved.

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"Aerith?" a familiar voice tore me away from my chain of thoughts.

"Yes, Zack?" I turned to him and spoke with great joy, hiding away any inappropriate emotions.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" He walks up behind me and gently snakes his arms around my waist.

"What feels good?" I embrace his arms and humor him in response.

"To see him again… To see Cloud once more.."

My heart must've intentionally skipped a beat as I heard Zack say his name.

"Mhmm. Yes… It does."

"That fool finally learned to forgive himself. "

"Took him a long time though!"

"Well you know Cloud," Again, another strong heart beat at his name. "He thinks it isn't normal for a person to commit mistakes from time to time."

"Yeah…" I chuckled softly before pulling away from Zack's soothing embrace.

"Something wrong?" he asked, curiously, a palpable look from his face.

"No. Nothing…"

I received a dubious look in reply. "C'mon Aerith, do you wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head in disagreement. "Um… No, thank you. But, I would like to be alone for awhile, though."

"Alright then… Just call me when you're feeling better."

"Of course, Zack." I waved him goodbye as he disappeared into the green hues of the Lifestream.

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I walked in a slow pace into the never ending space of the Lifestream, with no direction at all. Each step was enveloped with my deep thoughts of him--- Cloud Strife.

From the bottom of my heart, I swear, I was happy. Because Cloud… Cloud finally forgave himself for my death. And for Zack's death, as well. He should've done this a long time ago. But he couldn't because he found it so difficult to do so, having felt responsible for what had happened. It pained him so much that I could feel it too.

But everything's alright now. He's okay. He said it so himself when I asked him as I walked out of my old Church while the children infected with geostigma were being healed in my holy water. Cloud said it, with a smile.

Yet although I am truly happy for him, I would be lying if I said I was completely fine with _every _thing. There was still something that was bugging me. Something that was in need of my attention and careful thinking.

No, no, not something.

Rather, someone. Her--- Tifa Lockhart.

_His _Tifa Lockhart.

The only girl in the world that was powerful enough to bring out the green-eyed monster within me. She was completely unaware of this, though. I was harmlessly jealous of Tifa.

Jealous because somewhere deep inside me-though I've denied it a couple of times- knows that she is the only one that holds the key to his heart and the key to the _real_ Cloud Strife.

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Back when Cloud fell into the Lifestream, there was nothing else I could do. He was lost. He didn't know who he really was—a Sephiroth clone or a real human being? Someone had to rescue him from his trouble. But as much as I badly wanted to be the one to save him, I simply couldn't be that someone.

The reason was because it had to be _her_, Tifa.

All I could do was just lead her to his subconscious, protect her from the Mako poisoning of the Lifestream and just pray that she was enough to bring back the 'real' Cloud.

She was successful. Tifa managed to bring Cloud back to his real self. I was thankful because he wasn't anymore the 'Zack' he unconsciously claimed himself to be. It was the real Cloud Strife—shy, kind, strong and brave. She brought him back. Not me.

It hurts me to know this. But I know it will hurt me even more if I was the one to hold that key. He did love me, but I feel like I loved him more than he will ever do in return. For him, Tifa was the only one that may hold that key to his heart.

This was the dagger in my heart, twisting its way through so deeply that it makes me want to hate everything else except him. But, what would I get if I were to hate?

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Except a frown from his angelic lips that says, '_this isn't you Aerith'_. And he would be right, it wouldn't really be me.

This is why I'd rather choose his happiness, before my own. Even if this meant that I could not be his happiness. If Cloud is happy with her, I should be happy as well.

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My eyes gazed at the surroundings of the Promised Land. It was all green, Mako energy, bursting forth from every direction and floating aimlessly in its own space. I closed my eyes and whispered to my heart of what I wanted to see at the moment. It was a simple wish, really.

When I opened my eyes again, I crafted a smile on my lips, in profound joy.

There he was, back in his home and back to his family in the Seventh Heaven bar. I see him, but he doesn't see me.

I looked closely and watched as he tucked in a sleepy Denzel and Marlene. The red-headed boy that was once a victim of geostigma, whispered 'good night' to Cloud while the girl sniggered in agreement. Cloud smiles, genuinely, before quietly closing the door and leaving the children to sleep without any worries that would usually taint their dreams every night.

As he left the children's room, Cloud was greeted by a tall, womanly figure whose back leaned against the wall opposite to him. With her arms crossed near her chest, she smiled serenely as bright, blue eyes collided intimately with her dark, brown ones. I couldn't deny that I felt a slight twinge in my heart. He couldn't help but smile too as she approached him slowly.

I didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation. But I guess I did. I didn't know why I did it, though.

"Thanks for tucking them in, Cloud."

"Yeah, sure..."

Tifa stopped, standing only a step away from him. She pressed her lips together and looked down. Silence filled the gap between them.

'_Say something Cloud. She wants to hear something from you.'_

"Well, good night then." Tifa spoke softly, quite unsatisfied.

I guess he didn't hear me. Cloud, you dense Chocobo head! You should've said something! Oh dear. How come until now, they still find it hard to communicate how they feel towards each other? They are so silly.

'_Cloud! Tell her something! Tell her anything!' _

I swear, I was already screaming from the top of my lungs, just to get this message to him.

I didn't know what made me do what I just did. I clasped my hands together, praying that it would work.

It did. The twinge was there again, lingering in my chest. The familiar pain was present again, forcing me into regretting what I just did.

Yet despite that, I guess I did what I felt was right. Kind of noble, you could say. I know it would hurt me. But, at least it worked. I'm glad I was able to get through the dense Cloud.

He made his move. Before Tifa walked towards her room, a deep, familiar voice stopped her from turning the knob open.

"Tifa,"

She got her wish. She got her happiness.

Tifa turned around and met Cloud's heart-melting gaze. "What is it, Cloud?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" She teasingly narrowed her brown eyes.

"For helping me find myself… again…" He smiled at her with certainty. This smile warmed her heart. It warmed mine.

"You know I'm always here for you."

He smiled once more as he stepped closer to Tifa, gently catching her gaze.

She opened her mouth once again, speaking softly, this time. "Hey Cloud,"

"Hn?"

"Thanks for keeping your promise to Denzel."

"Promise?" A clueless expression fostered in Cloud's face. The expression that manifested was just like before when he forgot the promise that Tifa made him do before he left to join SOLDIER.

"I see you forgot," Tifa said, teasingly.

He looked down like a little boy that was about to be scolded.

"Remember the battle with the Bahamut SIN? Before you and I joined the others in the fight, Denzel made you promise that you would come back home with us. You kept it and it made him happy."

She looked away and whispered, "It made me happy…" Tifa's ivory cheeks became tainted with a reddish glow.

As usual, Cloud could never find the right words to reply whenever Tifa said what she felt. But what she couldn't see, I could. I saw how Cloud's heart beat erratically in response to her blush.

It was a heart-breaking feeling because I could never do what she did. But at the same time, it has given me the sense of relief that her feelings were whole-heartedly returned, unlike mine.

She deserves it.

Not me.

Because I deserve something else, rather, _someone_…

I continued to watch them with a faint smile on my lips.

Cloud finally broke another gap of silence as he spoke. Tifa felt his gaze upon her but still refused to look at him, fearing of any awkwardness to what she said seconds before.

"Barret told me that he would drop by tomorrow morning to pick up the kids. He said he wanted to spend time with them especially with Marlene."

Tifa shyly turned her head back to him and said, "Marlene would really like that. Well, I'll stay here and tend the bar. How about you? Are you going to get back to your delivery service tomorrow, Cloud?"

"No."

"No? You have any other plans?"

"Yes. With you," Cloud stumbled to find the right words that eventually managed to get its way through. "If that's okay, that is…"

Tifa felt as if her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. The warmth she felt was overwhelming her. But as much as she wanted to respond to him in a loving gesture, she just made it evident in her blushing grin.

I know this because I know how it feels. He made me feel the same way before. But Cloud was never the kind of person to actually realize something that's already there right before his eyes. He just thought that she was smiling with no particular reason.

"It's fine with me. But… what exactly will we be doing tomorrow?" Tifa found herself staring again in his enticing, blue eyes that were partially covered with strands of his blonde spikes.

"You'll find out tomorrow. Good night, Tifa." Cloud broke away from her gaze and turned around to enter his room just beside hers. It left her hanging and speechless. She felt unexplainably excited about what the following day would bring.

But even with the certainty that he coated in his words, Tifa saw pass through it all. Cloud still didn't know what they would be doing the next day. She saw this when Cloud immediately greeted him a 'good night' in order to avoid further questions. This humored her for him to be trying his best to still impress her even the in the smallest way possible.

She thought it was silly.

I did too.

But no matter how childish it was, Tifa loved him for it. _I loved him for it._

"Good night, Cloud. Sweet dreams." She entered her room and closed a door with a smile on her lips and happiness in her heart, knowing that she won't need to wake up to another morning with a suspended reality.

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I closed my emerald eyes. With the absence of light, I didn't know what I wanted to see next. I saw what I wanted to see.

_Him_, happy and very much in love with _her_.

His happiness would be my happiness. But my love would never be his love. It would be for…

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"I'm glad you're finally feeling better, Aerith."

I opened my eyes and an angel's face greeted me. His bright, blue eyes gazed deeply upon my emerald ones, his sight making me lose contact from reality.

"Hello, Zack." I smiled, whole-heartedly at him. I smiled at the man that I've always loved. The man I thought I saw in another.

But no one could ever replace him. No one. Not even the Cloud that I _did_ love.

"Everything's alright now." I smiled as I approach him.

"Yeah, it is. I'm happy because I found you again. I'll never lose you again, Aerith. I promise."

"Promise?? Haha!"

"What? You're laughing at a sincere promise? Really, Aerith, you picked the right time to giggle."

"No, Zack. I didn't mean that at all." I approached him and let myself be embraced by his arms. "It's just that… Hmm… No, never mind. They'll get through it."

"Oh, you mean, Cloud and Tifa?"

"Who else would I mean, silly?" I tittered as I rested my head on his well-toned chest, hearing the beat of his heart even though neither of us was alive anymore.

"Well sorry for being clueless, Aerith." Zack teasingly pulled me closer to him.

"You're forgiven, Zack." I laughed again as I snuggled to him even more and breathed in his warm scent.

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I loved and I was loved in return.

Even if it was only for a short while, somewhere along the way, I am glad to have learned where I really belonged, to have learned how to accept things as how it truly was meant to be.

If he learned to forgive, I learned to accept.

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**A/N: This is my first FF7 fanfic! I hope you enjoyed reading it... Now, its time for you to give me a review! Do it. Seriously. Thanks. **


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